B.C. maintains COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care workers

B.C.'s ministry of health confirms that the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in the public system and care homes stands, a clarification it's making in the wake of confusion over a bureaucratic change.

B.C.’s ministry of health confirms that the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in the public system and care homes stands, a clarification it’s making in the wake of confusion over a bureaucratic change.

On Friday, the office of the Provincial Health Officer published a notice that regulators and colleges of health care professionals are not required to get the vaccination status of nurses, dentists, psychologists, doctors and others, but that doesn’t change the fact the workers must be vaccinated.

British Columbia is one of the few provinces to maintain a requirement for publicly-employed health care professionals to be vaccinated against the virus, though it dropped the requirement for other public employees.

There’s been widespread speculation and confusion as to the meaning of the order dated July 14, which is a brief notice that “collection and disclosure by the Colleges of vaccination status information of registrants is no longer needed” and signed by Dr. Bonnie Henry

A representative from Henry’s office has confirmed there’s no change to the mandate, describing the notice as a bureaucratic change around record-keeping of vaccination rates. The colleges are still expected to collect vaccination information, but are no longer required to by PHO order.

“To be clear, vaccine mandates remain in highest-risk settings where the most vulnerable live and are cared for,” Henry wrote in an email statement. “This includes facilities in the health-care system.”